I never expected to get so much out of a blogging or social network site. Before starting here last July, I rarely engaged with people online after years of getting bad tastes in my mouth or simply not feeling like I was getting out what I was looking for.

I hadn't written anything for at least ten years, preferring to be physically around people and get into impromptu conversational learning sessions where I could share my ideas, hopefully having people poke holes in them. This was how I got feedback and practiced articulating abstract thoughts which I could restate and refine with others over time.

Then along came Steemit...

We all know on some level, the ability to make money makes a difference. I joined up during the heyday of Steem being around $4, with posts earning tens of thousands of dollars and many comments easily making a grand. It was absolutely amazing to think that a makeup tutorial broke $30,000!

I know many don't like to say it, but seeing this much earning potential made me want to see what I could do to get in on that. Little did I know that it would end up with me getting my writing bug back, which continued regardless of payouts or share price, co-hosting a podcast which I'd never done (let alone thought of doing) before, worked on being social which isn't always the easiest thing for an introvert.

But here I am, almost a year down the road, with a rather long list of things that Steemit has either rekindled or created brand new sparks. Just off the top of my head:

• I got back into writing shower-thoughs, psychology, and philosophy articles
• For the first time ever, I started writing fiction
• I learned about cryptocurrency (beyond just hearing or Bitcoin) and now I've been trading a couple months
• I've met fantastic people with amazing talents
• I've gotten to watch and sometimes take part with new projects
• Started a podcast by talking into an old iPhone to now having professional equipment
• Got to answer questions and help out new Steemit users in the mentor group
• Setup game streaming for broadcasting personal and Steemit game nights

Steemit has been great at pushing me to do what I already did better and try out things that I'd thought about, but never tried pushing me out of my comfort zones!

Sure, not everything I tried was enjoyable or successful, but I'm thrilled to have broken out of my timid shell to have tried. Those things that I have found to be fun and interesting, give me more stuff to crack out on and continue ramping up with over time. It's hard to imagine how different my life would be right now had I not joined this place last year!

Thank you Steemit! I wouldn't be where I am today with you!

With all that being said, recently I pulled a little of my Steem earnings out to further the idea of progressing into new things and pushing my comfort zone. As you might have seen in my last post

I used this to grab a few lenses to play with for shooting flowers. I'd always loved seeing the macro shots of others on here and not I get to give it a try. It really give added perspective I'd not had prior when getting that up close to see the minute details.

But the more exciting purchase with my Steem Dollars is my first ever webcam. I've never been big on showing my face, preferring to just be audio. But with the same idea of using Steemit to push my boundaries it only seemed a fitting Steem Dollar purchase.

Over the next week you'll see the webcam put to use trying my hand at vlogging, letting me get back to my more conversational versus writing roots, as well as getting back into streaming some video games which I want to use to advertise Steemit itself, drawing in some more games. (Who doesn't love gamers! Lol.)

TL;DR: Thank you Steemit for letting me share and refine what I already did and push me to to try new things! Also, thanks for the Steem Dollars used to purchase my new phone camera lenses and my first ever webcam!

Keep Smilin' and Steem On!

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Image Sources:
Fishbowl Quote
Comfort Zone Quote
Macro Flower Shot is by me
3 in 1 lens set
WebCam